Corporation for Public Broadcasting to shut down in January 2026

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will shut down early next year, effectively ending its half-century role as a backer of NPR, PBS, and local radio and TV stations across the United States, reports The New York Times.

The D.C.-based organization will continue to support public broadcasters through a transition period that will end in January, said Patricia Harrison, its president and chief executive, in a statement.

The majority of staff positions will be eliminated with the close of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025

“Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Ms. Harrison said. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”

The Times adds that The Corporation for Public Broadcasting “has been in the cross hairs of Republicans for decades. Conservative policy advocates, legislators and presidents argued persistently that the public shouldn’t be responsible for financing media they perceived as having a liberal bias. But repeated attempts to defund public broadcasters failed, until this year.

“Congress voted last month to claw back more than $500 million of the organization’s annual funding in a narrow vote that played out along party lines. That forced the corporation into a cash crunch.”

PBS, NPR and some of the most popular programs associated with public broadcasting, such as “Sesame Street” and “All Things Considered,” will survive without the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, reports The Times.